Room space has increasingly become an expensive and limiting factor when setting up and installing audio/visual equipment, computer networking, interface boxes, distribution amplifiers, matrix switches, and the like. In order to solve space limitations, equipment boxes, shelves, carts, floor-standing and wall-mounted rack units, projector poles and outlet power strips are typically utilized. These attempts to solve such space limitations, however, can take up already scarce floor or wall space.
Moreover, cables, jacks and electrical outlets that are used to power audio/visual equipment can create unsightly, cluttered and even dangerous conditions with randomly placed wires causing personal hazards. The risk of hazards is especially high in rooms that receive heavy foot traffic such as might occur, e.g., in conference centers, schools, general meeting facilities, training facilities, airports, medical facilities, museums, retail environments, lunch rooms, huddle spaces, corporate offices and sports bars and restaurants. The use of cable protection cord covers might provide some visual cue of wires running along a floor, but they can create a bump on the floor and are also unsightly. These attempts to remedy space limitations may ruin the architect's design of the room.
A potentially overlooked area for space savings and visually hiding cables and electrical wires and equipment, such as audio/visual equipment, computer networking, interface boxes, distribution amplifiers, matrix switches, and the like, is within the ceiling space of the room. However, using ceiling mounted boxes have the inherent difficulty of making connections that are not within the box itself, since there is generally no access to the space above the box.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide ceiling boxes to use ceiling space for cables, wires, jacks, outlets and the like, without impacting limited floor or wall space.
The ceiling space above the room may be used to install boxes that keep the audio/visual equipment, computer networking, interface connections, distribution amplifiers, matrix switches, and the like separate from the wall and floor room space. Moreover, keeping these sensitive components out of everyday reach can prevent tampering or inadvertent and accidental breakage of equipment or disconnection of critical wiring. Freeing up floor and wall space with the recessed, deployable ceiling structures of the present invention also helps to remove the dangerous tripping hazards from wires laying on the floor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide ceiling boxes that comprise ceiling frame-mounted assemblies that can receive ceiling box products that are suitable for insertion into the ceiling frame-mounted assemblies. The ceiling box products allow, e.g., installation of a plurality of rack shelving for mounting of rack equipment, and AC receptacles to accommodate electrical requirements of audio visual equipment, computer networking, interface boxes, distribution amplifiers, matrix switches, and the like. Thus, using the recessed, deployable ceiling structures of the present invention helps reduce the use of valuable room floor and/or wall space by utilizing space typically ignored when organizing infrastructures.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the ceiling boxes allow for the suspension of the ceiling box products from the ceiling frame-mounted assemblies by wire cables to enable servicing of the ceiling box product components and connections without having to completely take down and remove the ceiling box products from the ceiling frame-mounted assemblies.